Tuesday 30 June 2015

Author Visits: New North Academy

I've had the pleasure of visiting New North Academy twice before: first when I met last year's Year 6s, and then when I attended their production of Varjak Paw: The Musical!  So I was delighted to come back and meet this year's Year 6s, and to find that they'd been reading my new book, Phoenix.


It was amazing to see all the work they'd done around Phoenix, and to hear all their thoughts about it.  When you spend seven years writing a book, it's wonderful to get such great feedback on it.  They also presented me with a beautiful bound book of reviews and artwork that they'd made!  Here are a few of them – click on the pictures to see them large:



So I'd just like to say a big thank you to Year 6, and to their teachers, Fiona Gunn-Stokes and Alexander Hall.  And if anyone at New North Academy has any more questions that they'd like to ask, or would like to say anything about the visit or my books, just leave me a comment below!

Monday 15 June 2015

Author Visits: WhitLit

Whitstable Literary Festival is only in its second year, but it's already established itself as one of the most exciting new book festivals in the UK.  A lot of great writers have been involved, so I was thrilled to be invited to come and talk about writing Varjak Paw and Phoenix!


It was an absolute pleasure to meet the young readers of Whitstable, who knocked me out with their enthusiasm for books and reading!  I heard some amazing stories, and some brilliant questions.


It was also a pleasure to sign books at the end.  But if there was anyone who wanted a book signed and didn't get one on the day, just get in touch with Harbour Books (21 Harbour Street), and we'll arrange for a signed bookplate to be sent to you.


Thanks again to everyone who was part of the day, especially Festival director Victoria Falconer and bookseller Liz Waller from Harbour Books (below), and everyone who came and made it such a great event.  And if you'd like to see more pictures from the day, here's a fantastic gallery on the Canterbury Times website!